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The Right to Manage may only be claimed in respect of premises which consist (among other things) of “a self-contained building or part of a building, with or without appurtenant property” (s.72(1)(a), C&LRA 2002). In the first right to manage case to reach the Court of Appeal (Gala Unity v Ariadne Road RTM Company Limited); the meaning of the term “appurtenant property” was considered. The Upper Tribunal had found in favour the RTM company, noting that the right to manage extended to “appurtenant pro

QUESTION Dear Sir I am a director of a residents company of a block of flats in Kingston upon Thames. Our flats are located on 3 floors above a ground floor commercial property. Three flat balconies on the first floor overlap the office and appear to be leaking water through to their premises. Surveyors suggest when the patio doors onto this balcony had replaced the original French windows, the work was done incorrectly possibly causing the ingress of water. The contractor quoting to renew the asphalt

QUESTION Dear Sir I own and live in a ground floor 3 storey high apartment block. I subscribe to Sky Plus. Unfortunately, I only have a single piped line into my apartment which precludes me from obtaining the full benefits of Sky Plus such as watching one programme while recording another. The freeholder has refused to put a second line in and also refuses permission for me to install my own Sky dish. Can they insist on this? What are the likely penalties if I disobey and install my own dish? Name

QUESTION Dear Sir Do you know of any courses for property management? Jackie Cooke ANSWER Yes, News on the Block runs regular training sessions about issues relating to the ownership and management of residential buildings. See the Events page on our website for further details.

Is your block of flats underinsured? What are the indicators of possible under-insurance and, if under-insured, what are the consequences? 1. THE SUM INSURED IS BASED ON THE MARKET VALUE The market value is the MARKET value not the sum insured for insurance purposes, which should include the full cost of rebuilding to the same specification as existing in accordance with current regulations and allowing for demolitions and fees. The market value and the rebuild cost are often significantly different

Cheapest is not best. Buying a product purely on price is a strategy fraught with danger. Recent press coverage of cheap beef products not being beef is a really good example. What you see is not always what you get. This is also true of insurance products. Management Companies and Managing Agents should be wary of internet providers, high street brokers and marketing specialists offering off the shelf products sold purely on price. Insurance Companies are in business to make profits for their shareholder

A year ago block insurance was a messy business for most concerned. Insurers were claiming to be losing money and then increasing policy excesses to preserve their profitability. Our water table hit record lows and, whilst we were all prepared for the inevitable hose pipe ban, loss adjusters geared up for a dry summer and an explosion in subsidence claims. And then it rained, and rained, and rained. Unfortunately, yet again, a large number of households were impacted by the floods of 2012. The good news,

Sometimes it is confusing to Leaseholders when they suffer a loss and find the building insurer says the damaged items are not insured and they must submit their claim to their contents insurer. The most common type of insurance claim for residential blocks of flats is for water damage where water from a flat above leaks into your home. The easiest way to differentiate between what can be claimed on the buildings policy and your contents insurer is to think: “If I move could I take this with me?”. The

Until The 1990’S insurance policies included damage by terrorism. Following incidents in London, insurers were no longer able to purchase the reinsurance cover they needed to protect themselves against potentially catastrophic losses so were threatening to exclude these risks completely. The Government stepped in to provide the insurers with the reinsurance cover needed to enable them to continue to provide the cover but it now had to be bought as a separate policy. MISCONCEPTION 1: Why don’t the i

One of the biggest challenges within this industry is being able to satisfy and manage owners’ expectations of their perception of what a property management company should provide to them against the reality of what they are contracted to provided to them. Often there is a huge variance between these two factors. It never ceases to amaze me as to how poorly informed owners and Directors (RTM companies) are over these expectations and it would often seem that they have made their largest purchase/inve

The Supreme Court decision in Daejan Investments Limited v Benson covers the circumstances in which the LVT can dispense with the consultation provisions pursuant to Sections 20 and 20ZA of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (“the Act”). For the facts of the case, see the news article on the front cover of this issue. JPC Law represented one of the Respondent Leaseholders. In his judgment, on behalf of the majority, Lord Neuberger makes clear actual prejudice to the tenant must be identified; a failur

Forsters Solicitors have recently won an instruction from the iconic world leading ”home of dance music and the world’s best nightclub” Ministry of Sound in relation to the proposed development of a 41-storey residential tower block directly opposite the club.  Concerned that the development will lead to noise complaints from residents and, ultimately, the loss of their licence and closure of the club, Ministry of Sound has campaigned tirelessly to safeguard the future of the club, which employs 200 p